


Riocht Bas

by buatsui (Megumi543)



Category: Original Work
Genre: Backstory, Eventual Smut, F/M, Multi, One Shot Collection, Slow Build, Soul Bond
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-13
Updated: 2018-08-18
Packaged: 2019-06-09 16:59:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,093
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15272097
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Megumi543/pseuds/buatsui
Summary: A collection of short stories, some connected, some not. My OC's Ard and Dex's backstory and them slowly falling in love.





	1. Reunion

There was a knock on the hard wood of Ard’s cottage door, snapping her out of the meditative state she had been desperately trying to maintain. She had been waiting for this. It had been a thousand years since Answin’s burning, and she knew that any day now- he would return. 

“Come in!” Ard called, standing from the small cushion on her floor. There was an ache in her chest, expectant of news, but knowing it wouldn’t exactly be  _ good _ news.

The door creaked as the thin blonde hair of Qupin peeked in, her usual cheery expression tainted with furrowed brows and thin lips. Ard couldn’t move. She felt glued to her spot as she watched Qupin close the door behind her. Qupin seemed to understand, and came to sit on the couch in front of her meister.

“I think you should sit down, love.” Qupin’s voice was soft, her pale hand motioning for Ard to move to her wicker chair behind her.

Ard did. Her body felt wickedly heavy as she came down, stiffly occupying her own space.

Qupin cleared her throat, red eyes bouncing to avoid the Maven’s anxious stare. “They… they found him, Ard.” the blonde’s voice was raspy and just as nervous as the thrumming in Ard’s chest. “He’s in the industrial complex, he’s only been awake for 3 days.” 

Ard couldn’t place what emotions she was feeling. There was a pang of excitement, the idea of seeing her long lost lover after so long was like fire in her heart. That excitement was quickly replaced with dread, a heavy and droning buzz in her ears, filling her to the brim with anxiety and discomfort. The industrial complex was where the most despicable souls went after death. To live in there was to be doomed to a life of hard labor, being surrounded by cruel and malicious people. With the vast and unending knowledge had, she couldn’t understand why Elv would send him there.

Qupin once again brought her out of her thoughts, “Ard, I know this is a lot- but if we want to get him moved out of that…  _ that place _ ,” Qupin practically spat, “We need to act fast.” 

Ard nodded, knowing fully how correct her apprentice was. There was only so much time before Answin’s soul would be claimed by an Underlord.

  
  


The cold whipped painfully at the pair’s cheeks as they walked through the city of Undergang. Their heavy cloaks flailed wildly as the wind cut through them like knives, the sun setting with a blue and ominous hue in the distance.

Ard could feel the thrum of her magic pulsing at her fingertips. Sure, she had authority here. She was the 2nd Maeven, and she was known through all the realms for her skills. Here, in Undergang, though, it wouldn’t matter. No one here would care who you were, only that you were in their way.

“This way.” Qupin ushered, leading her meister down a long and narrow alleyway. 

The entire city smelled of smoke and soot, and the grime on the buildings only reflected that. Each brick was coated in a thick smog, blacked from years of coal smoke billowing into the skies. There was a feeling of dread coating Ard’s mind as she walked through the dimly lit city. She was here for one reason, and she would just have to deal with the disgusting Industrial Complex.

After a minute of walking, they finally reached the end of the alley. There were rows upon rows of huge skyscrapers, housing complexes for the workers. The jutted into the sky like knives, smoke billowing from each rooftop. Ard wasn’t completely unfamiliar with this area, but the purple hue of the city reaching nightfall was disorienting and different than she was used to.

Qupin tapped her shoulder. “He’s in building 19, 6th floor.” the blonde said.   
  


 

It took some time to reach the second to last building, but luckily they hadn’t run in to anyone yet. Ard was thankful he was only on the sixth floor as she peered up at the tall building, she would have hated to climb the hundreds of stories the building had.

The two made quick work of climbing the fire access stairways. They were a relic from an older time, no longer needed but more than useful for their current situation. Ard took in a shuddering breath, the adrenaline of their initial leave slowly fading. She was scared. If Answin was here, there was no telling how he had changed. 

“Okay, I’ll check to see where we can get in.” Ard whispered. She closed her eyes, feeling her magic tendril out into the rooms, listening for any sounds or people. Finally, she found an empty room and opened her eyes. “This way.”

Qupin followed silently as Ard walked carefully across the metal grating of the fire access platforms. They moved from one side of the building to the other, and Ard stopped in front of a window only 3 from the corner. Qupin couldn’t help but admire Ard’s cool and reserved posturing as she reached out to the window and slowly began to phase through the wall. Ard reach a hand out, and Qupin gasped as she felt her meister’s magic flow through her. Within a moment, they were in the room. 

It was a disgusting place to live, Ard thought. It was small like a dorm room, but it had never been cleaned or fixed up since the beginning of its existence. The walls and flooring were yellowed a sickly acid color, and everything else in the room stank of dirt and grime. Shaking her head, Ard reminded herself of why they were here.

After Elv had ordered the First Ruling, all first point housing facilities were required to keep identification on the rooms. It was an attempt to make it easier to find incorrectly placed souls and take them back to Arcadia.

The two girls stepped out into the long and narrow hallway of the 6th floor, quiet as they could manage. The halls were just as dilapidated and yellowed with age as the rooms, and the sheer number of rooms made the hallways feel never-ending. Once again, Ard closed her eyes and went searching. She was looking for a new soul, only 3 days old. It took her only a minute before she found him.

They shared no words as they hurried down the hallway, passing nearly 60 rooms before Ard stopped. The room number read 81, and below the faded numbers was a fresh ID card.  _ 55842 _ , it was his designated number. 

It was then, standing silently in front of the beaten down and ragged door, that Ard felt the weight of her actions. She could be killed for this, she shouldn’t even be here. She had endangered not only herself, but brought along her gifted apprentice, too! Ard felt sick, her heart pounding relentlessly in her chest. She didn’t even know if Answin would remember her. 

“Ard.” Qupin called out, her hand coming to rest on Ard’s shoulder. “I know you’re scared. I am too… but we have to worry about everything else later. Right now, we need to get him out of here.” It took a moment, but finally Ard nodded. 

“Alright. Let’s do this.” 

Ard’s fingertips burned as she made contact with the door, her magic swelling within her as she slowly moved through the barrier. She offered a hand to her apprentice when only one knuckle had gone through, and their eyes met. This would be it. Everything Ard had been waiting for for so long, it would be now. She took a steadying breath, and they quickly walked through the door.

  
  


The room was dark, the only light was from the window. It was as dank and dingy as all the other rooms, and in the middle there was a tattered twin mattress on the floor. 

Ard felt her heart jump into her throat when she saw him. He sat with his legs crossed as he stared out the window. It was Answin- she mentally screamed- but he was skeletal in appearance. She could see his spine jutting out from beneath the dirty white shirt he wore, his ribs casting stark shadows. She could see that same dark skin she had always loved, but it was pale and covered in grime. Ard’s eyes traveled up his form, landing on the dark brown hair of his head- and there, on the crown of his head, were two large and sharp horns. 

Ard gasped. The sound echoed through the room like a bullet, and Answin immediately rose. Their eyes met, and Ard had never felt more sick in her life. The soft, gentle, loving eyes she had loved so dearly, had been replaced with narrowed glowing orbs with slits for pupils. 

“Who the fuck are you!?” the man growled, but he didn’t move. 

_Oh spirits_ , Ard cried mentally, _this wasn’t Answin_. His voice was deep and gravely, and had the echoey and distorted sound that only daemons had. 

Qupin looked between the two. She was panicked, but she saw that Ard had completely shut down. “We’re here to get you out of this place. We need to leave.” Qupin said. 

The being that stood before them bared his teeth, his glowing eyes squinting at Qupin. She had never met Answin before he had been burned, only heard stories of him. She didn’t know what to expect when she saw him- but this certainly was not it.

“Why the fuck would I go with you?” he spat, “I don’t even fucking know you!” 

Those were the words that snapped Ard back to reality. “You- you don’t know us?” her voice was soft and quivering, and Qupin saw tears beginning to well in Ard’s eyes.

The man scoffed, “Of course not! I’ve been here three days, and the only fucking people I’ve met sure as hell weren’t wearing your fancy ass robes.” 

Ard began to speak, a choke sputtering from her throat- but Qupin cut her off. “Listen, we don’t have time to explain. But believe me when I say that if you stay here, you will never get out. Your soul will be claimed, and you will become property.” Qupin said steadily, and the man’s posture relaxed slightly. “Come with us, and you’ll get out of this city and be moved to a safer location.” 

Ard’s eyes watched as Answin seemed to consider her apprentice’s words. She felt that same sick feeling, but she tried to will it away. Even if he didn’t remember her, even if he didn’t look the same- she knew that this was Answin. 

“Why should I believe you?” he asked, his eyes boring holes into Qupin’s.

Qupin shook her head incredulously, “Look at this place! It’s a shit-show, and I’m sure you’ve already met some unsavory folks here. You really wanna pass on an offer to get you away?” Qupin tried, “Trust me. We’ve been here a lot longer than you have.”

Answin moved to look out the window again. The sun was barely visible anymore, and the smog of the night workers had begun to fill the sky. He turned back and groaned, “Fine.”   
  


Ard steeled herself as she took her apprentice’s hand, still too shocked to take Answin’s. They phased through the wall of his room, coming to step out onto the fire escape platform. She knew they didn’t have much time. In this area, night patrol officers would be out and Ard knew better than to stick around long enough to meet them.

“Come this way.” She ordered. 

The man and Qupin followed with a nod, following Ard to the rails of the platform. “We don’t have time to take the stairs, we’re gonna jump.” the Maeven said, locking eyes with Answin. 

“What the fuck!?” he bit, and Qupin quickly flicked a finger against his lips to get him to lower his voice. “We’re six stories high! We jump, and we’ll all die, or our bodies will break into tiny lil pieces.” 

Ard shook her head. She was growing frustrated. “No. Trust me.” 

The maeven offered her hand again as she climbed over the railing, her feet slipping between the rails. Qupin knew what her plan was and followed suit, taking her meisters hand in hers. “Get over the rails. Now.” Qupin commanded at Answin, her own red eyes narrowing.

Answin looked around, running a frail hand over his face. Wordlessly he climbed over the rail and took Qupin’s hand. He watched in nervous anticipation as Ard closed her eyes before jumping away from the rails. Her weight pulled the other two down with her, and they began to fall. Just before they would have slammed into the ground, Ard snapped the fingers of her free hand and they all began to float. Answin had no idea what had happened, but as their feet met solid ground he growled a quiet “What the fuck was that?!” his only response was an eyeroll from Qupin.

“Alright,” Ard huffed, “From here, we’re going to have to run as fast as we can to the Undergang border. My magic can’t keep us hidden forever, so after I start the spell- move.”

Qupin nodded. She had been on many missions with Ard before, but none had ever been so high-stakes. It was important to listen to any command her meister gave today. The man said nothing as they took hands again, watching as Ard closed her eyes. He could feel something powerful surging within him, tickling the skin where his hand held Qupin’s. Ard opened her eyes, snapped her fingers, and they were invisible. 

Qupin moved first, taking off at a sprint. It was then she realized that Ard had also put a speed charm on them. All three ran faster than they ever had before, their footsteps echoing agaisnt the pavement with loud slaps of sound. The reached the corner of the building and skidded as they turned, nearly running straight into the patrol guard- Qupin nearly screamed, but with another snap of her fingers, they moved right through the man.

“Hey! Who’s there!?” the guard boomed, his voice echoing through the complexes.

Answin nearly stopped, but the two girls continued to pull him swiftly away. “Don’t stop!” Ard yelled.

They continued to run without slowing, the magic pulsing between them. Qupin dared not look back as she heard the snarling barks of the Undergang hounds rushing towards them. She trusted in Ard and her ability to keep them safe, but she didn’t trust the hounds. Notoriously vicious and cruel, they were primarily used as tools to keep the people of Undergang in line.

There was a moment of sheer panic as Ard could hear the hounds running to them. She knew they were safe, but hounds could see through her invisibility spell. She considered her options. She already felt worn out from all the magic she was using, but she knew that if she hounds somehow got to them before she could phase them- they would be killed.

“Okay-” Ard huffed, “When I say go, jump up like your going over a fence or something!” 

The sounds of the growling hounds was getting closer, and Answin turned to look back at them. They were huge, imposing bloodhounds with oozing flesh that left open windows of their bones to jut out. Their eyes glowed a smoky blue and a black goo oozed from their open mouths. 

Before Answin could truly begin to panic, Ard screamed “Now!”

His legs acted before his mind did, and they were suddenly flying into the sky. There was a weightlessness as they floated above the rows of buildings, but in an instant they began to run on the air. It was as though Ard had made an invisible road for them to run on. The speed charm had faded, but they were still invisible. They had managed to escape the hounds, but they still continued to run.

  
  


It took 40 minutes of painful and exhausting running before Ard finally allowed them to slowly float to the ground. The were on the outskirts of Undergang, just at the edge of the forest. 

As soon as they touched down back onto the ground, their hands came apart and the magic dissipated. The three hunched over and panted, their lungs burning and their limbs sore and weak.

Qupin heaved, looking over to her meister only to see her trembling. Her fingers were beginning to spread a magic bleed, a dark magenta traveling up her arms. Ard had been using too much magic for too long, and it was taking a huge toll on her body. Even Ard’s eyes had begun to show the magic bleed with magenta flowing through her scleras. 

“Holy shit!” Answin yelled, coming to grab Ard’s wrist. “What happened to you?!” 

Ard snapped her arm back, “Nothing.” she rasped. She stumbled in her spot, a pink hand coming to reach for her forehead. 

Qupin moved between them, grasping the blue-haired woman’s shoulders to steady her. “Hey, don’t push yourself too hard.” she said, and Ard flashed a tired but warm smile.

The city was quiet on the outskirts of the forest, quiet birds chirping and the cold wind rustling the leaves. “I already have someone he can stay with.” Qupin began, “It’s in the forest nearby the mining complex, we can get there in around 15 minutes.”

Ard nodded. She felt incredibly weak, her head throbbing with pain. She hadn’t used her magic for that long in forever, and it had wrecked her. Ard looked from her apprentice to Answin, who stood silently with his back towards her. He stared back into the city, his fists clenched to his sides.

“What am I going to do when I get out of this place?” his voice asked quietly. There was still the echoey and distant voice of daemons, but there was a softness to his voice that made Ard’s heart ache.

Ard looked down to their feet, “We’ll work it out when we get there.” her voice croaked, “Together we’ll figure it out.”   
  


 

The leaves crunched beneath their feet as they walked through the dense forest. They didn’t speak, and with each minute passing Ard could feel herself recovering her magic. She wanted to talk to him- to reach out and grab his hand and walk together. In the darkness, he looked just like Answin. 

“What are your names?” Answin asked, continuing to look ahead.

Ard watched as Qupin sighed, “I’m Qupin, this is Ardghal.” she said simply, “What is your name?”

“I’m Dex.” 

Ard wanted to cry at that moment. Why would his name be different? What had Elv done to not only get him placed in the industrial complex, but to have his memory erased and be given a new name?

“Oh.” Qupin’s surprise was evident in her voice. 

Dex stopped to look at her with a raised eyebrow, “What? Got a problem with that?” he snarled.

Qupin shook her head. “No, it’s just… different than I thought you would have.”

Answin- no, Dex, rolled his eyes before he continued walking deeper into the forest. Within a few minutes they came into a clearing, an open grassy field before them. In the middle of the field was a small stone cottage, light from the window pouring onto the grass below it. 

 

As they approached the cottage, the large heavy door swung open. More light flooded into view, and out stepped a short and small person. Their gender was undeterminable from so far away, but Ard wondered if she could recognize them.

“Welcome, Qupin!” the voice called out with a sing-song voice, so cheery that it threw Ard and Dex off slightly.

“Fri!” Qupin replied cheerily, her legs bouncing excitedly towards the open door.

Ard and Dex followed silently, a shared unsuredness between them. Soon they stood by Qupin, and were able to see him clearly. Fri was a short man, probably dying when he was a young teenager, and had two short neon blue horns sticking out from his pastel purple hair.

“Took you longer than I thought it would…” Fri teased, a tongue sticking out between his teeth. He was wall-eyed, and smirked deviously when he eyed Dex. “Is this my new guest?” he asked.

Qupin nodded. “Yep!” Qupin turned to smile at Dex, “Dex, meet your new host- Ledsenfri. Mouth full, I know. Fri, meet Dex.” 

Dex nodded politely, and Ard felt a tug in her chest as she watched as he wordlessly walked into the house behind Fri. “Well, when will you be back?” Fri asked, stepping out and closing the door behind him.

“Tomorrow.” Qupin smiled, “I don’t know exactly when, but we will come pick him up when we come.”

“Good. I’ll see you then.”

 


	2. Scald Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ard gets some shit off her chest

It felt a bit sickening the first time she felt it. It was like an itch in an inaccessible place, constantly nagging for her attention but never to be satiated. Ard had repressed those feelings a long time ago. Sure, it had only taken 189 years- but who was counting? Certainly not she. She wasn’t angry. She had no reason to be.

When she had first noticed that gnawing sensation in her gut, she was flush with resentment. Dex had only been staying in her home for two weeks, but his mere presence had excited something within her. Her mind would carry thoughts of him through her head, like wind through the leaves of a tree. It was frustrating. Very, very frustrating.

“What’s wrong?” Qupin asked, her voice breaking the long silence that filled the cottage room. 

Ard snapped her gaze up at her apprentice. Her chin rested in her hand as she leaned over her large tome of spells, bright blue eyes blinking widely at the blonde across from her. 

“W-what?” 

Qupin rolled her eyes. The albino’s pale fingers drummed on the large table, “You’ve clearly got something on your mind. You’ve been staring at the same page for 10 minutes now.”

The Maeven was never strong in subtly, as much as she wished she was. Ard had been thinking about  _ that itch _ , distracting her from the work in front of her. How could she be so careless? It was bad to admit she even had that feeling, but it taking away from her tasks was embarrassing.

“Nothing,” she mumbled, looking back down at the book, “Don’t worry about it.”

“It’s Dex, isn’t it.”

Was she really that obvious? Or was her apprentice just that good? She didn’t care to know. 

Sighing, Ard closed the pages of her spellbook. The cover fell shut with a low  _ thump _ and Ard shoved it to her side. She stared into the red eyes of Qupin’s calm gaze. Qupin had always been very patient with Ard’s nervousness and private nature. She would have never said anything if she wasn’t worried. Ard supposed she should be thankful to have such a caring friend if she wasn’t so embarrassed.

Qupin laughed, eyes twinkling with mirth. “Of course it is! Who else could have the great Maeven of Arcadia all down in the dumps?” she teased. 

“He doesn’t have me down in the dumps!” Ard retorted, unsure of why she was so defensive all the sudden. “It’s just that… well, having him around is hard for me.”

“How?”

Ard brought her hands together to wring them nervously, averting her gaze down to the grain of the table. “I dunno… it’s weird to have someone who looks, smells, moves and acts like the man you used to love- but is a totally different person.” surprisingly, she felt somewhat better after the words left her mouth. She didn't usually confide in others, but the stress of the past month had been growing painfully within her.

“That’s understandable. I can’t even imagine Meg leaving and someone who looked just like her, but was an asshole, came and took her place.” Qupin replied, leaning back in her chair. It reminded Ard of what therapists did in the human world. “Is he still not talking to you?”

Ard shook her head. 

“Well, it is a lot to find out about. I can’t really blame the dude.” 

“I can’t either.” Ard whispered painfully. 

Slapping her cheeks to bring some liveliness back into her body, Ard pulled the tome back in front of her and flipped the pages open. Personal problems couldn’t stop her from being productive- or at least trying to be.   
  


* * *

 

It would take another 4 days before Dex would finally say something. Ard sat silently in the hearth of her home, watching the fireplace flickering it’s orange flames as she knit. Her needles tapped against each other quietly as she worked. It was peaceful, serene even. 

“Mind if I join you?” 

Dex’s voice startled Ard, causing her to yelp embarrassingly loud. Her hands fumbled with the knitting she held as she looked over her shoulder and saw his bright glowing eyes shining into the darkness. She nodded, anticipation and nervousness filling her with a fervent speed.

The daemon came to sit in the large recliner next to the fireplace. His long legs hung over the cushion like a gangly spider, the light from the fire bouncing off of his form. She said nothing and instead just stared. She felt that familiar pull in her chest as she took in his features. He looked so much like Answin. It hurt.

Dex cleared his throat suddenly, “What was he like?” he asked. His voice was low and quiet, barely audible save for the daemonic reverb quality that echoed off the walls.

“Who?”

Ard watched as he slowly shifted to lean in her direction, his blue and green eyes meeting hers. “Answin. What was he like?”

It felt like someone had punched Ard in the throat. Words failed to form on her tongue as she gasped for air. “He… I... “ spirits, where should she even begin? How do you tell someone who they once were? What they used to be- and never could be again?

Dex was patient as he waited for her reply. He broke his gaze and peered into the fire, his long body majestically poised in waiting.

“He was…” she began, “very different. Answin was… well, he was everything to me. We knew each other when we were alive, in the human world. It was an arranged marriage, but somehow we fell in love. One way or another we died and met back here.” She hadn’t meant to ramble about their past, but talking about Answin always made her weak in that way.

Dex said nothing, so she continued. “When we first started apprenticing, he hated it. He only did it for me. Spirits, he resented every moment of those 100 years. Once we became Maevens and made the Council he promised that he would never leave me. He was so serious like that. He never went back on a promise.”

“Except for me.” Dex said. There was no inflection in his voice, and Ard had no idea what he was feeling. “I represent a broken promise for you.”

“No.” Ard felt sick, hearing his words were so cold. Emotions she had repressed for so long bubbled to the surface. “He broke every rule in the book to keep me safe, sacrificed his very being!” her voice was loud and she found her hands were clenched into tight fists. “He did everything for me, and guess what? It went wrong. I lost everything.  _ He _ lost everything!”

Dex’s head snapped back to her direction, eyebrows furrowed and his expression stern. Suddenly his long legs rose him from the chair, standing him in front of the fireplace. His shadow loomed over her body on the couch. “So why keep me around, huh? If you loved Answin so much, why did you pick up the literal embodiment of everything he’s not?!” there was so much anger in his voice and Ard felt her eyes burn with the threat of tears.

Without thinking, Ard surged up from her spot, coming to stand across from him. “Because you aren’t those things. You don’t represent a broken promise!” she scoffed. She had never felt so angry in her life. It was like a pot of boiling water that had been slowly building for 1000 years, and only now was beginning to overflow. 

“Don’t you get it!? You are the representation of his love for me! You are everything Elv hated about him. I picked you out of that disgusting wasteland, expecting to find  _ him _ . Instead, I find out that everything I had been waiting for, for so long, was gone.  _ Really gone _ . I found out that everything I had worked so hard for with him had been for nothing. I found out that the very law I gave my soul to- Elv,” she spat, “he ruined the only good thing I had in my life. He took away everything I ever held dear to me. Now I have to live with the knowledge that the God I work for is evil, and conniving, and willing to hurt me in the lowest of ways.”

The was a long silence that followed Ard’s words. Never before had she let her anger, her true feelings about Answin’s burning, come out. She had pushed those thoughts onto a shelf, letting them settle with dust to be forgotten about. 

“You’re crying.” Dex whispered. 

Ard touched her cheek, and the hot sensation of tears met her fingertips. Her vision blurred and her chest tightened as she fully began to realize she was crying. The pot of boiling water had finally overflown, and a sob ripped from her chest. She fell back onto the couch, chest heaving and she sobbed into her hands.

She jumped when she felt the cushion beneath her sag and arms wrapped around her shoulders. Dex was hugging her. 

He ran a hand over her hair, soothing her without words. She felt so stupid as she sat there crying in his arms. 

“I’m sorry.” the daemon whispered, “I’m so sorry.” 

His words changed nothing about their situation. It didn’t make things better, or help in any way. But they felt good to hear. That itch, that sick feeling in her heart seemed to float away, and she was left empty of tears. She slowly brought her hands from her face and wrapped them around Dex’s waist. Everything was awful and she wanted to just hide from the pain, but in his arms, Ard felt that it would all be okay eventually. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What was originally going to be a cute, fluffy and nice oneshot became this.   
> Takes place a couple weeks after Dex comes to stay with Ard, she tells him about who he used to be, and he stops talking to her.


End file.
